Friday, February 15, 2008

After nearly three years, it's time to start a new blog that reflects where my interests lie, in the big scheme of thangs. And they lie in all-things-media, particularly as they relate to the South, particulary with southern news media.

So here is Mostly Media, where I will no doubt be spending most of my spare time, as if there is such a thing as spare time. Another urban myth!

The Spacey Gracey Review will always be my first big blog-love. No question about that. But I know where my blogospheric strengths, and weaknesses, lie now so I'm going to pursue a more, uh, universal, professional approach to a blog this go-'round. And I want to reach out and pull in other fantastic contributors for Mostly Media, as I get the funny feeling I'm not the only media junkie roaming the planet.

The future is clearly within the broadband video realm, and if you're into news and politics and video and mashing them all up together online, then these are very heady times. I feel like a teenager again whenever I start rolling a frame of videotape - I just have no idea where it's all going to end up. A lot's going to go right to the trash heap of oblivion of course, but there are seemingly endless possibilities with video right now, that even the trash cans are being explored and mined and fretted over! Who knows, maybe even a long subverted, supressed, ignored artistic bent will come over me, and I'll just chuck it all and "do art." Weirder things have happened I suppose. Although I like being a capitalist pig way too much to really ever go with a whole lot of "chucking it all" attitude.

Who knows, even TrueGritz could get a dose of fresh air in such a brave new world of video production. All I really know right now is that truly anything really is possible.

Friday, January 25, 2008

I now officially hate not only Andy-Shay, but Blockbuster and Facebook too! Utterly without my permission to either company, Facebook began posting my latest Blockbuster DVD orders, my queue in other words, on my Facebook profile.

I can NOT believe they did this without my knowledge nor my consent. Now the whole world is gonna know I ordered the entire first season of Hawaii 5-0 and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

A pox on both their houses. Heads are sooooo gonna roll over there at Facebook, mark my word. What amazing jerks. Any lawyers wanna give me a call?

HT to Amber who Twittered me this link about how to, AFTER THE FACT, block unwanted web sites/companies from posting YOUR personal information to your Facebook profile.

When I feel violated, I go hire a lawyer and let them sort my feelings for me.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Sunday, November 25, 2007

As you've noticed, I'm not blogging much. Not here at least. You can still find me on Peach Pundit for political commentary.

Personal blogging is really sooo Web 2.0. I'm moving on to Web 3.0, where you actually get paid for your efforts, and where some are busy growing new media efforts into "micro-media brands" -- such as that dynamic New Media Jim from DC.

Others such as the intriguing, always-delightful, longtime ATL blogger, Timothy Moeck and his Atlanta NetSquared, are taking their micro-media brand towards a seriously philanthropic arena.

The best places to catch up with me nowadays are Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr. See you online no matter!

Friday, November 16, 2007

If you would like to attend the Atlanta, red carpet screening November 17th, tomorrow, Saturday, of the upcoming horror thriller, "Somebody Help Me," starring Omarion, Marques Houston, and Brooklyn Sudano (and blog about it maybe?) please contact: keanesli at theconversationgroup dot com. He'll set you up right.

How do you find compelling new news shows in the clutter of The Information Age? Well, sometimes they find you! In this case, I discovered The Alcove With Mark Molaro via Facebook.

I'd joined a Facebook group, Fans of PBS, and Mark Molaro messaged me a personal note about his interview show, which I watch on Blip.tv. Browsing through his interviews, I was delighted to find one with one of my longtime favorite journalists, Maria Hinojosa, speaking here about her horrifying, yet hopeful PBS NOW documentary, Child Brides, Stolen Lives. Watch that interview here now.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

1.) BlabberMash launches!!!! Yeah! BlabberMash is a video sharing site about dating, sex and relationships from Atlanta's Michael Alvear, also host of HBO's Sex Inspectors. Check out the blazingly frank BlabberMash here.

2.) Jeff Haynie and Nolan Wright, local e-entrepreneurs extraordinaire, set loose Appcelerator on to the global economy. It looks just amazing, but a little bit over my techno-smallish head I admit. I am a lot of things, but a programmer isn't one of them. I think it's all about, uh, applications and widgets and stuff. It's all open-source though, and that's a good thing.

3.) Caroline Monroe was one of the Top Picks in the Eddie's Attic MySpace voting. She'll be playing a showcase (free) of online winners Tuesday November 20th at 8pm at Eddie's Attic in Decatur. Sure hope to see you there!

4.) Chilton made yet another cool video about his band's adventure's. That's right here:

Please help spread the good Georgia news about all these cool new ventures and shows from Georgia's finest homegrown talents!

Fans of Walt Disney Co.'s "Hannah Montana" TV show were falsely promised access to tickets to live concerts featuring the program's star for joining a paid fan club, according to a copy of a lawsuit provided by lawyers.

Friday, November 09, 2007

And a great mashup of old/new media working together to further the (tax dollar boondoggles) story. Don't miss the jumping fish! Not that any self-respecting Mac user would ever have put those things in there, I still like 'em.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

This is an interesting situation CL noted today -- a small enterprise, new business (a smoothie shoppe) that needs more customers. Hmmmm, what would you do within social media to drive more traffic to a brick and mortar store with goodies in it?

Atlanta bloggers: leave YOUR social media tips and tricks for Bridgette, the owner of the Decatur/Oakhurst shop, on the CL post here. Ones you think that could help her drive foot traffic to her store. Or blog about her. And of course, stop by the store if you're in the area. Her smoothies look wonderful!

Monday, November 05, 2007

Yeah, because I almost fell out of bed laughing so hard when I woke-up suddenly to news that Hollywood writers are indeed now striking, leaving TV industry execs to make inane statements about new media such as, "If people can't get their shows on TV, it could send people to the Web to find entertainment there." I swear I am not making that up!

Forget writers. TV execs are hilarious just by opening their mouths. Put them on the Big TV. Of course I say, bring it on. The strike. Ain't no unions on the Interwebs. Anyone deprived of just astonishing sources of pure entertainment feel free to watch TrueGritz, where our dubious creativity is always available -- to advertisers too. Or just sit around and watch YouTube. I hear people just are crazy for the thing.

In case you wonder just how great the impact of television advertising is on children, of any kind, to any demo, wonder no more. I bought some Dannon Activia yogurt the other day, since any mode of modern living, other than lying in my preferred vegetative state on a beach, tends to annoy my delicate innards. This new dairy product, in the TV ads, promised great things for one's GI system. As soon as my seven-year old saw something new in our refrigerator, she reached for a carton and said, 'Hey, I've seen this on TV." Then, despite an historical indifference to yogurt, she swiftly ate an entire serving, and quite seriously declared, "My stomach really does feels better now."

Not only is Comcast, our local cable provider and ISP to many, slowing traffic along their tubes, they're also geared to fire employees who talk about what they're up to. So of course the techno-geeks are talking! Good for them. And at least one reason to be glad you stuck with Bellsouth. From Ars Technica:

Ars has heard from multiple Comcast employees since the story broke, and they're all telling us the same thing. They're supposed to tell customers asking whether Comcast limits access to BitTorrent that the ISP doesn't block access to any application, including BitTorrent. Furthermore, tech support workers are supposed to toe the party line at all times, or they'll be fired. "Management informed anyone that discussed this issue with any customer or press associate that it would lead to termination," an internal tier 2 tech support worker told Ars on the condition of anonymity.

Full post here. And call your Atlanta Comcast office and see what BS they have to offer you: 404-266-2278. Does anyone know who handles PR for Comcast here? I'd love to blog about them too!

Friday, October 26, 2007

With a hell of a lot of hard pro-bono work, Rusty Tanton somehow managed to wrap-up the increasingly vibrant, comprehensive Georgia blogosphere for the last two weeks. Rusty tackled the crazy job so well, he should keep at it! Take some time to browse the best of the local blogosphere with Georgia Blog Carnival #21. And thank Rusty for hosting too when you have a sec.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

In what promises to be a stunning showcase of fine Atlanta music throughout the ages, James Kelly will guest host WRFG's Spam & Grits show on Friday night from 8-10pm. No one knows country, cracker-roots music better'n James, a.k.a Slim Chance of longtime Atlanta honky tonkin' band, Slim Chance and the Convicts... and of numerous other ventures and pursuits to benefit humanity. Says Slim:

This show will feature only music by alt. country, folk, bluegrass, rockabilly, and various artists from the Atlanta and surrounding region. I have dug deep in the archives of the Slim chance Music Museum, and come up with a slew of great obscure and long lost material. There are artists who you haven't heard in years, artists who have moved away but maintain their Georgia identity, artists who are probably playing this weekend, and artists who have left this mortal coil, but are still missed. We're gonna have a lot of fun with this one friends, I promise.

Also, this is pledge drive time at WRFG. Support Atlanta's best alt-radio in whatever way you can. The number is (404) 523-8989. You can also pledge online here.

Relationship guru, Atlantan Michael Alvear, is getting ready to go big with his video sharing advice site BlabberMash.com, soon as it's out of Beta that is. He's already hitting the morning talk show circuit with a BlabberMash tag. Watch that here to find out what not to do, and what to do, if you find yourself falling for a friend. Yikes.

If you're a gay man, you likely know all about Mike. If not, you may recognize him from HBO's Sex Inspectors. I'm looking forward to seeing him all over the media soon with BlabberMash, which is for anyone of any sexual inclination or gender who might need just a little more feedback on their relationship, uh, trajectory. And don't we all?

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Just when Sonny was, finally, back from Japan and seriously on his A-game, sounding every bit the powerful crisis-management leader, then wouldn’t ya know… along comes Schwarzenegger again, with his “perfect storm” sound bite and perfect bod and way-cooler disaster. Sonny got bumped down to second tier for America’s Best Crisis Governor all over national news last night.

We were reduced to a mere VO on ABC, while over on CBS’s second block, some babbling dope kept yammering about how “panicked” we were here in Georgia, yet failed to display anything remotely resembling this ”panic” we’re having. (You in a “panic?” I’m in a “panic” because my car has to go to the damn car spa — again.)

It’s just hard for a southerner to lead a national newscast nowadays when you’ve got Suzanne Summers and Ryan O’Neal evacuating estates in only their underwear. Between Malibu fires and Malibu Barbie (Valerie Plame Wilson) raging all over the national airways, Georgia’s water emergency never stood a chance at #1. Heck, even Tyler Perry’s movie dropped in sales over the weekend.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Yes, it is kinda tough and often discouraging talking yourself up to get out there and commit citizen journalism yet again, for no apparent rhyme nor reason nor enough of an audience or YouTube views. So let me offer up my two news icons for you to gaze upon, Lara and Mike, who never fail to inspire me and to raise my hopes to another 40 page views. Let them too be the hot wings beneath your gonzo aspiring winds.

Plus, you know you'd look hot hot hot too in all that This Is Where The Story Is semi-military/native get-up!

And if all the above ain't doing it for you, there's always AC of course.

This is an odd video, one with a rambling (and not terribly timely) political agenda. For instance, there's a Stomp And Stammer shout-out at 04:22, although Jeff Clark hates people with dreads. Then again, he hates people as a rule, so WTF. Here you go, Ho:

Thursday, October 18, 2007

1.) Mary Gauthier tonight at the Five Spot in L5P. One of the best singer/storytellers you can experience, in such an intimate setting. Wish I could be there.

2.) They's Democrats here with guns! And smokin' cigarettes. And drinkin' shine, although that shine looks an awful lot like ice tea now don't it? Call the ATF. EPA. DEA. HHR. ICE. FBI. FDA. BLM. NPS. OSHA. And we ain't even started with State.

3.) I had the good fortune to catch cultural performer Sara Jones live about a year ago -- a master of contemporary global accents. Catch some of 'em here now.

4.) Southern Political Report gets a new site design. They're still woefully lacking in social media tools though. Hope that's next.

5.) Drought continues despite rain.

6.) Join Atlanta blogger Bernita Smith as a Friends of Nita in her fight against her breast cancer by visiting her Making Strides Against Breast Cancer team page here. Her team walks on October 27th at Atlantic Station at 8am. Nita is so many things to so many people in the South. Now's when she needs us the most, and you know it's usually the other way around!

Blame it on Pledge Drive. I just stay cranky during Pledge Drive. Waking up to WABE locals yammering financial guilt into my ear at 6am does not make for a happy yupster. Not on top of having just been buffeted by confounding dreams of guilt and rage.

My karma's been all wrong lately, and I just had this overwhelming wave of despair come over me this morning with my coffee that things were just not going right at all, despite the (good?) news of Benhazir Bhutto's emotional return to Pakistan.

What with the drought and the State fighting so with The Feds (that kinda shit's just not funny to us Southerners), and this rain-tease God's working on us, and my kid having a meltdown this morning over whatever she wanted to wear to school being "too hot on her back" (I draw the line at backless halter tops and bikinis in elementary school), and this grossly dead tree in our condo yard that could fall on units and cars and cause lawsuits to the board members (me) if the board doesn't do something to get it down soon, and this guy I have a wicked-bad crush on who lives halfway around the world and doesn't even know I exist, and the fact that every woman I know my age, well almost, has The Cancer, and it's just a matter of time before it's me, and the brakes are now really squealling on the Volvo...

So what's a soccer mom to do to right things in her world? Well, I went right to The New Yorker and got myself a tattoo. I swear I feel better already.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

In what surely has to be one of the stranger emails I've ever gotten, I clicked-on the directions to the screening party for Planet In Peril I'd never been invited to in the first place (tonight at the Georgia Aquarium at 6pm) and... voila... AC360 himself!

What a total tease this non-invitation was though as even though the bizarre email also included a full alphabetical listing of invitees who had previously RSVP'd in time to get a slot at tonight's premier, AC was not on the list -- proving once again Atlanta has no celebrities worth trying to con your way into anything over.

Then you come to realize that seemingly ALL of her numerous family members are joining in the blog reindeer games with their often contradictory and hilarious comments on every post she takes. Everyone from a grandmother, Mamoo, to a teenager daughter's latest boyfriend. You'll get to know them all if you're a regular to The Stone's Colossal Dream. Seemingly everyone she's responsible for, or who's responsible for her, or whom she knows intimately chimes in daily with their personal POV about Tania's World -- and exactly how they fit into the acknowledged zoo of it all.

Coming from a family that takes interest in, let alone something as ghastly as personal involvement in, one another's lives to disconnected heights of avoidance and contact akin to contagion units at the CDC, I marvel at Tania's blog's participatory, familial nature via new media.

With frequent visits, it's easy to find yourself feeling that you're a part of Tania's wacky suburban mayhem, where reflection and chatter and banter and argument and the spiritual and the mundane and seriousness and loopy camping trip behavior all reign and vie for more more more attention throughout any given day.

Tania's passed on her participatory, literate and literary tendencies to her oldest daughter, Sadie, who's now blogging from Costa Rica, where she's happily exploring the landscape, the populace, and herself.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

The Shelbinator has gone and done something cool. Again. He changed his blog masthead "red for Burma." Maybe he'll share the graphic for our own blogs if we're nice to him? Well, he might share with you. (I tried last week to get everyone to change their Twitter icon to that of a monk. I think 2 people did it. Social media once again fails to obey my orders. Hmmmppphhh.)

How about "red for Myanmar?" And I passed that same beer can pile on SC Hwy. 11 last weekend. Least there was one that looked just like it on 11 just to the east side (?) of Walhalla. You couldn't miss it it was so darn shiney.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

If you caught JMS on AC360 last night, you may, if you are the hardcore media junkie I am, have wondered how much energy was consumed to get that two-way shot with Stipe in Athens up to AC in NYC. A lot, I can assure you, given the price of gasoline used to transport a full MSM crew around Georgia.

Let's assume that a CNN crew based out of Atlanta was sent for the day to Athens, GA to set-up the shot. That's using XXX gallons of fossil fuel, right? In the kind of oversized vehicle needed to schlep all their gear back and forth. (Let's also assume no plane fuel was involved in the making of those TV minutes though, as that would be just thousands of gallons of fossil fuel burned, as opposed to mere hundreds.) And costs involved for that Athens-to-NYC air time were at least in the medium thousands. At least.

Meanwhile, CNN could have leveraged a terrific Green Media Moment (you read it here first; so yeah, you use it, I'll sue the pants off you) to do that live shot, which BTW was not live, but merely live-to-tape as we say in the biz. Notice the nice natural light on Stipe's shot, who was in the same time zone as a 10pm EDT Cooper; that was cool though because doing the shot outdoors saved plenty by not utilizing those energy-guzzling indoor lights.

Instead of incurring the costs for the (fossil) fuel, the superfluous personnel, and the ludicrously expensive satellite feed/uplinking capability needed to get Stipe onto AC360 last night, whereby he could then assist in the pimping of the upcoming green special, Planet In Peril, CNN could have had Stipe fire-up his laptop, plug a DV camera into it, get a wi-fi signal, jump on some live streaming platform like Ustream.tv, and voila -- live GREEN TV! Albeit via the Internets of course, but live or live-to-tape, and totally cool and totally pimp-able for being greener than the rest. A win-win for all. Even the marketeers!

Now of course there would be some energy resources expended to power the Internets-related tools that Stipe and CNN needed to employ to get the great, now-green media to everyone who was seeking such last night, but energy costs would have been drastically lower overall. And think if that laptop could have been... say... solar powered! Now we're talking Green Media, folks.

All the above said though, R.E.M.'s song put the soul into the CNN pictures we were seeing last night. There's energy and power in that kinda human resource that's immeasurable. Let's hope those kinds of energies are renewable, 'cause that's what we'll be left with when the other kinds are gone.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A previously unreleased R.E.M. song, I take it a new one, will be debuting tonight on the I Dream Of Anderson Cooper show. This song will be used in the Planet in Peril special that commences October 23rd.

CNN's got a winner in this one -- women are going to go bonkers, globally. Anderson Cooper, Sanjay Gupta and Jeff Corwin all in one do-gooder-adventure-ist televised romp! My kid, who's seven, is absolutely mad for Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin, so they can pull from not only the news junkie, eco-minded (read to advertisers: deep pockets) crowd, but the Hannah Montana tween demo too.

Like I'd let her stay up that late, but if I had TeVo, I'd tevo it for her at least.

Matt Towery of Insider Advantage’s Southern Political Report (who has yet to get the Share Your New Media memo and continues to employ un-embeddable video on his site. Heck, he’s yet to get any sharing media memo as there are ZERO sharing tools on the site from what I can tell) has the latest and greatest data on how the ‘08 Presidential candidates are playing down south… and elsewhere.

Matt’s poll results, and fabulous preacher-man hairdo, are here. Good news for Edwards and Thompson somewhere in there. Clinton and Giuliani strong, strong, stong in FL and SC.

Deeper analysis of I Know What Fred Did At The Debate Last Night is here. But I’m addicted to these gosh darn wacky webcasts. There’s something so ______________ about them. Fill in the blank with YOUR bons motes and priceless feedback.